Wednesday, 18 January 2017

On Jan. 20, Donald Trump will be sworn in
as the 45th president of the United States and the Barack Obama era will
officially come to an end. While his net worth is nowhere near that of his successor,
Mr. Obama will leave office a very rich man.

Based on a recent study by American
University in Washington, D.C., the Obamas could stand to make as much as $242
million once leaving the White House.

Here is a look at President Barack Obama
as he turns over the presidency, his net worth and plans for the future.

President Barack Obama Net Worth:
$12.2 Million

For his day job as president, Barack
Obama earned $400,000 a year throughout his entire eight-year term — a salary
that incoming president Trump has vowed to forgo. The president also receives a
$50,000 annual expense account, a $100,000 nontaxable travel account and a
$19,000 entertainment budget.

On April 15, 2016, President Obama
released his 2015 tax returns, which showed that he and First Lady Michelle
Obama filed jointly and reported an adjusted gross income of $436,065. They
paid $81,472 in taxes according to their 18.7 percent tax rate.

They also donated a total of $64,066 to
more than 30 charities.

According to CelebrityNetWorth.com,
Mr. Obama has a net worth of $12.2 million and First Lady Michelle Obama is not
far behind with a net worth of $11.8 million.

How exactly did Obama grow his fortune?
Here’s a timeline of his earnings over the years, as Chronicled by Business
Insider:

-2004: He earned a salary of $80,287 from
the Illinois State Senate and $32,144 from the University of Chicago Law
School, where he taught. The president also had assets in four financial funds
worth between $50,000 and $100,000 each.

-2005: Obama signed a multi-book deal
with Random House and received a $1.9 million advance for “The Audacity of
Hope,” plus royalties, following his appearance at the 2004 Democratic National
Convention. Also that year he earned just over $847,000 off another book
advance, plus $378,000 off additional book royalties. Meanwhile, his
investments grew with the addition of a Nuveen Floating Rate Income Fund valued
between $50,000 and $100,000. He also reported deposit accounts valued between
$150,000 and $350,000.

-2006: Obama reported book royalties of
just under $150,000, plus $425,000 off an additional book advance. He also
acquired publicly-traded assets worth tens of thousands, including funds with
Goldman Sachs and Vanguard.

-2007: Obama earned $3.3 million off book
royalties from Random House and $816,000 from Dystel & Goderich Literary
Management. He acquired a Northern Municipal Money Market Fund valued between
$1 million and $5 million, in addition to U.S. Treasury notes valued between
$500,000 and $1 million. For his daughters, he invested in two 529 college
savings plans valued around $200,000 each.

-2008: When Obama was selected as
president, he owned somewhere between $1 million and $5.1 million in U.S.
Treasury bills.

-2009-2015: Obama earned $400,000 a year
as president and continued to earn book royalties, as well as interest on his
investments.

Barack Obama: Life Beyond the
Presidency

According to Time, the first thing Barack
Obama plans to do after leaving the hardest job in the world is to “sleep for
two weeks.”

The president is likely to return to his
community activist roots — following his slumber, of course, according to USA
Today. That will likely include work on issues that were important to him
during his presidency, such as gun control, immigration, nuclear
nonproliferation, race relations and criminal justice reform.

According to the 1958 Former Presidents
Act, Obama will receive the salary of a Cabinet secretary for the rest of his
life. Currently, that’s $205,700 a year. Among the other perks are health
insurance and round-the-clock Secret Service protection until his death.

The costs of Secret Service protection
are not made public, but Obama will also receive funds for an office, staff and
related expenses, which George W. Bush took advantage of to the tune of $1.1
million in 2015.

Many presidents establish foundations and
enjoy lucrative second careers as in-demand speakers and authors. Although
there is no hard data on Obama’s previous speaking fees, past presidents such
as George W. Bush have earned between $100,000 and $175,000 per engagement
after they left the White House.

First off, money talks. According to CNN,
former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary earned an average of
$210,795 per speech in the 15 or so years since he left office. That totals
approximately $153 million for 729 paid speaking engagements.

American University estimates that the
Obamas could make as many as 50 speeches a year once he is out of office,
earning “a conservative $200,000 apiece and you’re already close to $200
million before taxes,” the study found.

Mr. Obama has already proven to be an
accomplished and popular author. Following the presidency, experts predict that
he could earn about $30 million for his memoir, while Michelle Obama could
garner an estimated $10 million for hers, according to the New York Times.

Either way, Obama will be the first
president in nearly 100 years to remain in Washington, D.C., after leaving
office. He and the family will remain in town so his youngest daughter, Sasha,
can finish high school.

Their new Washington digs are located in
the capitol’s posh Kalorama neighborhood, where first daughter Ivanka Trump also owns a home.
The Obamas have leased an 8,200-square-foot, nine-bedroom mansion that
was built in 1928. The spacious home last sold for $5.3 million in 2014
and is estimated to be worth $6.3 million today.

Barack Obama will leave office a very
rich man. He and the first lady are likely to remain a visible Washington power
couple after an even wealthier power broker takes his place in the Oval Office.